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In the opening game of the 10th annual Rock the Ribbon Roundball Shootout, the Rockbridge County High School boys basketball team suffered a 69-56 loss to Eastern Mennonite on Friday afternoon in the RCHS gym.
Because of an administrative decision to allow students and teachers to attend the 1 p.m. game, the contest drew a large home crowd, bringing extra energy and enjoying a varsity basketball game during the school day for the first time.
It was the sixth consecutive loss for the Wildcats (2-17), who were playing their third game in four days. The previous two games were single-digit losses.
Saturday’s game was close early on, with both teams shooting well from 3-point range. The tall and athletic Harrisonburg- based Flames (14-4) took an 18-13 lead at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, EM extended its lead to nine, but RC battled back to tie the game 26-26 and briefly took a onepoint lead before the Flames got the lead back to hold a 33-30 advantage at halftime.
Early in the second half, RC’s leading scorer, Henry Lambert, picked up his fourth foul and had to sit on the bench for a good portion of the remainder of the game. EM took advantage, extending its lead to 50-38 by the end of the third quarter. “I haven’t had to deal with Henry in foul trouble this year,” said RC head coach Rob Winfield. “That really hurt us.”
The Wildcats continued to battle in the fourth quarter, but the Flames finished strong, maintaining a double-digit lead the rest of the way.
Lambert led RC with 16 points, sinking two 3-pointers, grabbed five rebounds, and was named to the all-tournament team. Also stepping up were Milo Mulitalo with 15 points and a team-high 14 rebounds and Sam Ballstaedt with nine points on three 3-pointers. Noah Hamm chipped in five points, grabbed seven rebounds and two steals, and took a charge.
EM’s Drew Hatter led all players with 28 points and was named to the all-tournament team, while Prodigy Simms added 20 points, sinking four 3-pointers. The Flames’ 6-foot-7-inch forward, Shawn Valentine, scored 11 points and energized the Flames’ fans with a dunk late in the game.
The Flames made eight 3-pointers, while RC hit seven. RC committed 11 turnovers, while EM had eight.
Reviewing the busy week, Winfield asked, “Can you fault the effort for our kids the last three games? God bless, we battled.”
